Frustrating and complicated situation

[pistolero]

I've fretted about my situation for too long and am currently 7 days past my spouse visa extension date.

I guess this means I'm technically an over stayer? What type of trouble am I going to get into?

With my husband, we had a plan to move back to my country before my visa expired, but now my husband can't join me in my country due to the covid situation. If we are just staying until he can enter my country, paying the £2500+ for the spouse visa extension seems like a lot of money and it would literally leave me with about £500 of savings. On top of this I'm not working and not even furloughed.

I wanted to leave to go back to my country before my visa expired and then return in a few months as a tourist until together with my husband we can return to my country, but the hotel quarantine situation for certain countries makes the idea of coming back anytime soon just too expensive. Now that I have overstayed a week, will coming back as a tourist be a problem?

The already frustrating system has just got even more frustrating given everything that is going on.

Does anybody have any good idea or suggestion around this situation?

[Frontier Mole]

What is your long term plan? If it is to move to Argentina in the long term and you are not seeking to gain ILR in the UK then your immigration history is not going to have a significant impact.

Overstaying is not an absolute killer for all future visas applications but it will have an unavoidable impact. In your current situation having overstayed a minimal amount of time / COVID in the background and still within the 14 days nominal grace period you are still in a redeemable position

If you were to leave almost immediately you are probably not going to have to many issues in the future. HOWEVER regardless of leaving in time or not returning on a visit visa was probably not a good plan in any case. They take a dim view of people returning on a visit visa shortly after the expiry of a long term visa. It is a simple equation- you have been here say 2.5 years so where is the need to return on a visit visa?

It is not impossible to return on a visit visa but it will not escape scrutiny.

[pistolero]

So our plan was to move to my country at the end of last year. But a side-effect of Covid was that my husband's job possibility fell through, in fact his intended place of work have now an austerity policy until Dec 2022, but I think he will find something else around Jun/Jul this year when things calm down with covid. It seems such a waste of so much money for me to apply for the visa just to stay 4 more months, but I'm not seeing any way around it. I mean, I'm just tempted to try and overstay for the 4 months, maybe getting deported would be a blessing and save me an air fare? Am I being completely ridiculous? I sometimes wonder whether these lockdowns have seriously impaired my judgement.

We could probably have lived apart for that time, but we have two children, and they would probably have to stay in the UK because they would need health insurance if they came with me. If they stay in the UK, this is going to challenge my husband's work situation. Buying the visa also puts a serious dent in our meagre savings.

Thank you for your advice, I guess I just need to do it as soon as possible before this 14 days that you mention finishes.

Thanks.

[Frontier Mole]

I can and will not condone overstaying, that is your choice / decision. I am assuming you are not working ( if you were in the first place) as your visa has expired? If you are working I would suggest you do not put your employer at risk and you should resign if they have not already identified your visa has expired.

If you decide to remain there is a near certainty that you are going to be contacted by the Home Office. Normally by text or email to encourage you to leave ASAP. The issue the Home Office will have to overcome in order to remove you will be your family life in the UK. It is difficult to split families in order to remove a single member of the family in isolation, particularly when there are young children involved.
The process is involved and not particularly expedited.

Before you decide on what your best option is, please contact an immigration legal representative for formal advice.

[manci]

As your visa expired recently consider applying for "exceptional assurance" due to Covid. The deadline for applications is next Sunday 28 February. See:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus ... s#contents

During the time in which your request for exceptional assurance is pending you will continue on the conditions as per your current or most recently expired visa, i.e. your immigration status will be temporarily regularised and you will not be considered an overstayer.

I am afraid I don't know how long UKVI might take to consider requests for exceptional assurance and in case of a refusal what grace period you might get, if any.

May be other forum members have this information?

[manci]

Correction to my previous post:

28 February is not a "deadline" but IMHO it would be advisable to apply by then.